The Purge: A Night to Survive
by Qry Raen
Summary: Remy, a seventeen year old girl, must leave her twelve year old brother, Max, to get medication for her sick grandmother during The Annual Purge, but when she is coming back from another successful gathering, she saves someone who will either have made her life better or worse.
1. Chapter 1: A Night to Survive

I do not own The Purge idea :(

The Purge: A Night to Survive

I never have been good at goodbyes and I'm the best at avoiding them. They leave a numbing taste in my mouth and a swelling in my throat that seems to linger even after the departure is made. They are possibly the hardest thing for me when it comes to socializing because all my life people have walked out on me with the least justified goodbyes I have ever heard. My parents left me and my kid brother, Max, with my sick grandmother after being pushed from foster home to foster home.

I stand at the sink in the kitchen cleaning the plates we have just dirtied for lunch. Max has taken Nana back to her room, she complained of feeling dizzy and cold. I try to ignore the lump in my throat that seems to grow every second that passes by. Today is the Annual Purge and I have another year to make a medicine run. My grandmother is our caregiver and after we found out that she has, what the doctors explained as, slow virus disease, and when both Nana and Max were out of the room, the doctor explained to me that she will die from this disease, if old age doesn't get to her first.

"Remy!" Max screams at the top of his lungs.

Alarm runs through my body and my heart sinks. I drop the dishes I have in my hands and I sprint towards my Nana's room where his scream seems to have come from. I round the corner to see that Max is holding her hand to his face, tears rolling down his flushed cheeks. I rush to her side and immediately put two fingers to her neck, just below her chin. I hold my breath and slowly move my fingers about but all I can feel is her cold flesh. Finally, to my relief, a light pulse is felt beneath my fingertips. I collapse in a chair behind me and wipe the perspiration from my brow.

"She's okay Max. She's just really tired. You should give her some time to rest, she'll be better tomorrow," I breathe.

Max gently places her hand by her side and leaves the room.

I look at Nana who just seems to be peacefully dreaming in a deep sleep, "Nana, we really need you… But I understand if you need to go now, just know that Max and I love you very much," I whisper close to her ear before I stand and leave the room.

I resume the dishes I was washing in the sink and try to ignore the startled Max sniffing at the table behind me, "Max, she'll be okay."

Max scoots from the table, coming over to my side and he leans against the counter beside me, "Are you getting her medicine tonight?"

I finish the last plate and set it on the towel to dry, "Yes," I dry my hands on the towel I have draped over my shoulder, "That's how I know she'll be just fine," I give him a reassuring smile.

He smiles back, "You have to be careful though, Remy!"

"I'll be fine, like every year."

And it seems to be an empty promise every time it slips past my lips, but I have never been willing to allow someone to make me out of a liar. Max is still at the tender age of twelve, but eventually I will have to teach him the way of the world it now is and since we're in the poorer area of the city, it is something I shouldn't have waited as long to teach him. People will die. We will die. It's just all in the manner of how, when, and by who.

"And you have to make sure no one gets past the basement doors," I tell him looking over to the seamless door hidden in the wall, "Which reminds me, have we got everything down there?"

Max thinks a moment, then nods, "Everything but Nana."

I chuckle, "When that time comes, we'll have to get you both down there," I pause to think, running the day through my mind to make sure that nothing was missed, "Why don't you go to your desk and draw for a little bit?"

He nods contently and heads for his room.

I check the clock and it reads 6:16.

I pace through the house, checking every room thoroughly; my fingers feel for the locks at the top of the windows and I pull the curtains closed. We have never had any problems with anyone trying to break in; we've never given them a reason too. I make sure that we look like the poorest family on the block and to break into our home would just be a waste of time. When I make it to Nana's room, she is sitting on the edge of them bed, leaning forward.

Before I can speak she looks over at me with a smile, "Remy," Her voice is weak, almost a whisper, "I hope I didn't scare Max."

"Well, kinda, but he's not that hard to scare Max," I say jokingly.

She laughs, "Yes, yes. You're going to have to do something about that, too," Her tone turns serious.

I sit on the bed beside her, "I know…"

"In good time," She says, pushing off the bed to stand, "Let's get down to the basement now."

I call for Max and we help get Nana down the stairs and to the bed that is especially for this day. I make my goodbye as short, but meaningful, as possible. After checking that all candles are lit, I start back up the stairs. The emergency broadcast alarms start ringing on the radio. The hard lump that I've seemed to have ignored now returns, cushioned in my swelling throat, and is accompanied with a cool twist of my stomach. I rush to my room to change into the black clothes I set aside to ware every year to sneak through the shadows. With every word the woman speaks, my pace increases.

"Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7 am when the purge concludes.

"Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a Nation reborn. May God be with you all," I say with the voice and stand at the breakers, turning off all of the lights.


	2. Chapter 2: In The Shadows

(**Thank you so much for the reviews! I didn't expect to get anything so soon! I'm going to try and get my chapters out as quickly as possible! Thanks so much for reading! :)**

Chapter 2: In The Shadows

Even after many years of having to get medicine for my Nana, my muscles still twitch with adrenaline and nerves. I no longer get dizzy from the rush, but my heart still pounds against my ribs as if trying to escape the danger I am willingly walking into. I had to; we can't afford the medication, so I must use the Annual Purge to my advantage to keep my grandmother alive as long as I possibly can.

After the sun has set enough to cast shadows I take deep breathes and double check my weapons. The knives I keep convenient on my waist and hidden in my boots are really the only form of protection I have. Another deep breath and slowly I open the backdoor. I had to work on it for months to keep it from squeaking.

My eyes instantly scan the streets around me. I'm so used to having to use all of my senses, my ears now seem to move in the direction I hear a noise in. Familiar men dressed in camouflage walk away from me carrying guns over their shoulders. I encounter them every year, but thankfully for the black mask I wear, they have no idea who I am after The Purge.

My breath makes small clouds in the air as I slip down the stairs, making sure to avoid the last noisy step; it almost gave me away one year when a group of shadowy figures was walking past our house. I hide in the shadows casted against the house. The closest pharmacy to us is only a few blocks away, but I usually can't get much from that store, if I can manage to get anything at all.

I tuck my wavy crimson hair into my black hood and put the mask in place before I step out into the street. I avoid the streetlamps that are extremely inconvenient for me considering they are placed within light shot of each other, so where one ends, another begins. Suddenly, a shot in the air stops me in my tracks and I race for the cover of the shadows against a brick building, but I can't stop moving. I continue on my mission.

The shadows are cooler, leaving my skin crawling towards the warmth that has collected beneath my black jacket. I don't remember it ever being this cold during a Purge before. As I make it around a corner, a fight has already broken out in the middle of the street. A group surrounds someone on the ground, beating him. This must have been the source of the gun shot. They yell at him, cursing and calling him vulgar names. I move on, keeping as subtle as possible.

As I keep covered in the shadows, a man's scream has me drop to the ground and covering myself with my sleeves. I peek up over my arms and it's the man that was surrounded, they now have him held up between two people and three others are kicking and punching him. I crawl on the ground until I get to the other side of the building and I scramble to my feet. I peer around the corner back to the ground to make sure that no one has seen me.

To my right, the pharmacy sits between two taller buildings. It is decorated with painted ivy vines and vases with flowers that I always admire every year that I come here. I see it as a little beauty caught up in a blood filled night. I can see that a window is already broken out of it. That is never a good sign, I can't waste time waiting for someone to finish their shopping, especially if they are after the same medicine I am. I bite my lip and step forward until I'm at a sprint towards the pharmacy.

When I get to the broken glass I stop and throw myself against the wall. Quickly I peek in through the broken window. Three men are rummaging through the medicine cabinets and drawers. To my advantage, they are facing away from me, so I have a chance to sneak inside without them noticing me _if_ I'm cautious. Carefully, I step in through the window. The crunching of the glass beneath my boots is muffled by the mumbling of the men who are constantly shuffling through objects. A dark shadow in the far right corner of the room catches my eye and I slither towards it.

"Dammit Scott! I can't find anything!" A low voice complains.

"Shut up and keep looking!" Another snaps.

I curl up into the corner and keep my hand readied at the knife nestled on my waist. I have never had to use it, but I do practice with them often. Of course, I don't want to make the mistake of thinking I will never have to. After a few minutes, my muscles begin to relax and I start to count. I will never stay in one spot longer than it takes me to count to three hundred. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6… 74, 75, 76, 77-

"There ain't nothin' here!" A new voice growls in frustration, throwing something down to the floor, "We're wastin' the night here."

Another loud object is thrown to the floor, "Yeah, let's get the hell out of here!"

I can't help but sigh in relief.

The men push fallen stands out of their path as they leave the store. I notice one man limping, almost bad enough to need help stepping over the window, and I assume he's the one in need for the medicine. When their dark shadows disappear, I crawl through the littered floor and into the medicine storage. I get to my feet and instantly begin to check through the drawers and on the floor where medicine is scattered like marbles.

After almost ten minutes of searching, I finally find two bottles of Amphetamine, a medication that helps Nana keep attentive. I quickly put the medicine in the pocket on my thigh when I hear a crash from the front of the store and almost instantly I can hear the humming of fire. The back of the store illuminates with an orange color. I glance over the counter where a wall of fire has already spread in front of the entrance.

Heat fills my lungs and the mask cradles the warm air against my face. Quickly, I pull it off and begin to search for an exit. Frantically, I push fallen shelves out of the way and open a door into a small bathroom. I curse and turn back to where I came when a flash of the word "Exit" catches my eye. My feet stagger forward and I barely make it around the corner before an explosion goes off from the front of the store.

I burst through the exit and come into an empty alley. I take a deep breath and collect myself. If I hadn't made medicine runs before, I probably would go home right now, but two bottles aren't going to be enough for an entire year, I need at least ten more bottles and the next pharmacy is across town. I put my mask back on and start down through the alley. I stay in the protection of the shadows the entire way to the next pharmacy.

I relax a little when the small pharmacy finally comes into view. It is placed adjacent to a dollar store where it is evident that it has already been ransacked for everything. They both sit at a corner, facing away from each other and a little hot dog stand claims the empty courtyard between them. I take Max there after school sometimes; he always reminds me that he loves the place and he refuses to eat hotdogs anywhere else.

I creep towards the pharmacy while still managing to stay in the shadow of a stretch of buildings. My steps are slow and careful as I always keep an eye all around me. I constantly have to move my head side to side from the mask only allowing me to see what is directly ahead of me, something I will have to work on when I get back.

When I reach the pharmacy doors, I peer through the glass to make sure that no one had decided to take a less obvious entrance into the store and when no shadows cross my view, I search for a near, heavy object. As my eyes still scan through the streets, I find a rock and quickly throw it in through the glass. I jump through as the glass is still falling like rain. I briskly search the store for any hidden visitors.

I get to back and instantly begin searching. To my surprise, everything looks full, restocked. I grab handfuls of Vicodin and Keppra, (used to stop seizures) and I grab enough Amphetamine for a year and a couple months. I'm about to leave when I see a note posted on the inside of the door. I finish securing my pockets and pull the note off the door that reads,

"Take what you need and May God be with you all."

They restocked the store on purpose.

A smile manages to cross my face.


	3. Chapter 3: The Good in Me

Chapter 3: The Good in Me

The first year I participated in The Annual Purge always comes to my mind when I'm heading back home. I was fourteen and Max was nine. He never knew about The Annual Purge until later that year after it had been and gone. That's the year my Nana got sick, too sick to live without medicine and that was our only option, my only option. She begged me not to go, but I did anyways and I'm glad I did. I learned many things in the first two years of participating in The Annual Purge, and one of them was to stick to the shadows.

I start back to the house, excitement of my good fortune still distracting me from the night of hell I'm walking through. It's eerily vacant with the only sound in the air from the roaring fires that have started on the streets. What a mess it always is after only 12 hours of The Annual Purge, 12 hours of allowing people to do whatever they want without consequence. I almost feel bad for the pharmacy the angry barbarians burned down just because they couldn't find the medication they were after.

The night has gotten even colder and now there's a crunch after every step I make, slowing me down. I've pulled hoodie up over my nose to keep the clouds from my breath from appearing. Once in a while I stop to overlook the streets, just to cover myself. It isn't very often you will see people on their own, most people are smart and they team up with others with the same goal, but I've never had that luxury, I refuse to talk about The Annual Purge with anyone, let alone tell them I participate.

Again, I hear a group that sounds like a gang of twenty, but I have never seen a group so large, though it may not be a bad idea. When I clear the building I have been using as cover I see the same five men and they have just tackled a man to the ground. I call these people Demons because that's all they use the Purge for is to get away with murder and violence they hold in all year. I wonder what they did with their first victim.

I hide behind a wall and look over at the group as he gets away. He starts running towards me and our eyes lock. He slows, staring at me. Before he can get five yards from me, they pull him back. He hits the ground with a huff of air that leaves his lungs and a knife is driven into his side. His scream makes me flinch. Between the Demons legs, he looks over at me, an eye swollen accented with blood covering his face.

He lips to me, "Please… Help…"

Dammit. What do I do? Do I dare help him? That's if I _can_ help him. Will he just turn around and rob me? Or worse, would he kill me? What if I needed help and the one person I was pleading to turned away from me?

What if he is providing for his loved ones like I am?

I can't leave him, it wouldn't feel right.

Before I allow myself to change my mind, I dart forward, taking the knife from my waist sheath. I jump onto an attackers back, driving the knife into his neck. It's almost like I'm cutting through butter with rubber bands inside. I twist it, feeling a pop in the handle of the knife, I hit an artery. Immediately he pushes me off and falls to the ground, madly holding his neck, screaming. Suddenly I'm thrown back to the ground and I land beside the victim. A Demon hits me with the butt of a gun across my left temple.

My head jolts to the side and my vision blurs. I can feel thick liquid running down my face and through my hair. A foot presses into my neck and I lift my arm, stabbing the closest leg to me, swinging the knife, I can feel it cutting through flesh and veins. It paid off to spend a few hours sharpening a plain old kitchen knife.

My mask is ripped off and I can see that I've managed to injure all of them, but not enough to stop them, just enough to piss them off. A kick to my side knocks the wind out of me and I curl into the fetal position, afraid to move. What have I done?

"A girl?!" A voice angrily exclaims.

"And she came to us," A throaty laugh comes from my side.

My leg is grabbed and before I can think, I plant my boot in his face. He steps back, but he bends down pulling me back by both of my legs until I'm directly underneath him. His face is stained with blood and dirt. He visibly grits his teeth as he pinches the button to my pants with his fingers, "You're going to regret this, girl." Just as he gets the first button through the button loop, he's shoved to the side and he lands in road.

"Come on!" A younger voice calls and I'm lifted off the ground, "Run!"

I get to my feet and begin to run when my eyes skim my mask gripped in the hand of the dead man I had stabbed in the neck. I snatch it and catch up to the limping boy, my fingers frantically buttoning my pants. When I look back, the men are collecting their wounded and their one dead. They've given up?

I follow the victim as closely as I can. It seems hard to keep my feet from dragging behind me. I'm weak now, obviously. Metallic blood fills my nose and mouth. The taste clings to the back of my tongue like powder. A growing headache begins at the temple I was hit in. My head spins and my eyes seem as if they are filled with water.

I stop at the edge of a fence, using it to keep me from collapsing on the ground.

"We have to keep going, we don't know if they are following us!" He says.

I look up at him, but his face is too hard to make out with my blurry eyes and the shadow casted across his face, "If they wanted us all that bad, they would have come after us already," I breathe.

Without a word, he wraps my arm around his neck and begins to carry me along with him, "I'm not taking any chances."

We travel a few blocks with him carrying me, but when I realize that we are nearing my home, I stop him, "We need to find somewhere to hide the rest of the night."

He looks over at me, only the brown in his eyes manage to fight through the watery ripples in my eyes, "Where do you suggest we go?"

My head drops, I'm unable to hold it up anymore. Blood covers his entire left side. I squeeze my eyes shut and pray that no one has followed us. I lift my arm and extend my finger towards my house, "Go through the back door and make sure you lock it behind us," I whisper before I black out.


	4. Chapter 4: Homecoming

Chapter 4: Homecoming

I open my eyes to candle light and the smell of stale, damp wood. I relax knowing I'm in the basement. My vision is clearer and my head no longer throbs with an aching pain. I slowly sit up and run my fingers through my hair. At the end of the table, Max is staring over me, his eyebrows pulled together in concern. I open my arms for him and he runs to me, wrapping his arms around my sore torso, but I bite my lip to keep myself from saying anything. I don't want them to know how badly I hurt.

When he lets go and steps back away from me, I look over at my Nana sitting across from him. She has pulled the recliner up to the couch. His shirt is up and she's leaning over, cleaning the wound he got from the knife. I jump from the table, "Nana! What are you doing?!" I ask in a stern tone. This is when I see that she has nearly finished stitching the wound.

She doesn't look up from her work, "Calm down, child. If I was still a nurse, I would just be doing this in the hospital. I'm almost done anyways."

"That's not what I'm worried about," I try not to look at him, but when she sits back after finishing his stitches, it's hard to keep my eyes distracted.

"There you go, good as new," She smiles delightfully, tilting her head back to look through the small lenses of her glasses that are placed delicately over her nose.

"Thank you very much ma'am. I would have died waiting till seven," He says looking up at me, "You should really get contacts."

I look at him awkwardly, "Why do you say that?"

"Because you're the only one in the world with green eyes like that," He chuckles, "And you wear that mask to keep from people recognizing you, right?"

My tailbone tingles with regret. He knows what I look like now.

My Nana bursts out in laughter, "Ain't that the truth."

"Have you taken you're medicine, Nana?" I ask as my hand reaches down to the empty pocket on my thigh.

"Yes, child. I've already had Max put them away for me," She mumbles, sinking back into the recliner, "You need to be more careful out there."

My eyes flicker to him again. His dark brown hair is barely held back by a small pony tail and his left eye is swollen, a bruise accompanies it, covering that side of his face. He holds his strong jaw bone up, as if balancing an icepack on his head, "He was asking me to help. I was nearly home and unharmed before then."

"I didn't know you were a girl!" He says in a defensive tone, "I thought I was asking for help from another guy!"

"What does me being a girl have to do with anything!?" I snap.

"Now, now. You're home and safe now," She says with a tired voice, "There are only a few more hours left. Let's just be thankful you came home at all."

I turn to Max who sits on a stool in the corner. His forehead rests in the palm of his hands and his elbows on his knees. I kneel down in front of him and lift his chin up, "What's wrong, Max?" He shakes his head and begins to put his head back down, but I stop him, "Max…"

"I should be going out with you," He mutters, "You got hurt," He pouts.

I laugh but am stopped short with pain from my side, "It happens but I'm alive," I smile widely, "and I got Nana's medicine, so it worked out."

"Gabe got you back," He says quietly, "He carried you here, even with after being cut real bad."

Gabe? "Gabe?" I echo.

"My name is Gabe Collins," He says from behind me.

I turn to him, hesitant to give him a name to my face, but the damage has already been done and won't do much good for me to withhold my name anyways, "And I'm Remy…"

"Well, it's nice to meet you Remy," He says, adding a charming smile at the end.

I turn back to Max quickly before he could be me blush, "How long have I been asleep?" I ask him under my breath.

He looks back down to the floor and thinks for a moment, "Well, you got back around twelve, and it's about three now."

My eyes widen, still four hours left until the Purge concludes. I look back at my grandmother, but she is already fast asleep in the recliner. I stand, "Gabe, do you mind if Max lies down? He usually sleeps on the couch."

"Not at all," He slowly and carefully stands and limps over to the table I was laying on earlier.

I lead Max to the couch and lay him down, pulling the blanket from the back. I cover him and kiss his forehead the way I do every night, "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

He nods, rolling over to face the back of the couch.

I sit on the table next to Gabe. He leans his head against the wall with his eyes closed. I look down at his hands that are calmly placed in front of him. I notice he's wearing a large tan shirt that Max usually wears to bed. His jeans are tattered and stained with blood, dirt, and what looks like oil. He wears brown boots with black lacing, similar to my Purging boots.

"Thanks by the way," He says to me, his eyes still closed, "I don't think anyone else would have done that for a stranger."

I shrug, "I would hope someone would help me if I was ever in need of it."

It falls silent as we both sit there, enjoying a moment to relax.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asks, breaking the silence.

"Sure."

"Why were you participating in the Purge?" His question is quiet, almost as if he didn't want to ask, but his curiosity got the best of him.

I look over at him, he's now looking at me. I can see now that his eyes are a dark chocolate color, "I had to get medicine for my grandmother. She's… sick…"

He nods, looking down at his fingers that twist together.

"Why were you participating?"

He chuckles, "I wanted the new Madonna CD for free," He jokes, "It was worth it."

I snicker, "Really? You seem more of a Christina Aguilera kinda guy."

"Yeah, I could go for both, honestly," He laughs.

I set my head back on the wall behind me, "I told you why I was out, it's only fair that you return the favor you know."

"Ha… yeah…" He starts, "But you had a more justified reason than I did."

"What was your reason?" I ask.

He is silent for a moment, as if in thought. His eyes stare across the room and at the wall that is painted with shadows being casted by the dozens of candles placed around the room, "I was on my way to get pain pills," He says, still staring across the room, "and not for the same reason you were after them."

I nod, understanding what he didn't want to say, "Tough habit to keep up."

"Tell me about it," He turns his palm over, a large scar stretches across from his pinky to his thumb, "This is from two years ago. I had to fight a guy off for the last few bottles."

"That should have been when you realized that it wasn't worth dying over."

He laughs and he looks over at me, "It's an amazing thing you're doing here, you know. Providing for them, risking your life to save your grandmother every year."

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees, "So they told you all of that while I was asleep."

He nods, "Except for the name of the diner you work at, I guess I'm not completely trust worthy quite yet."

"Yet?" I repeat, "Who says there's going to be a 'yet'?"

He chuckles, "Fair enough."

I sit back, "You got any family?"

"Oh yeah, two brothers, an older one and a younger one," He explains, "Parent's died when I was about fifteen."

"That always sucks…"

"Yeah… both during a Purge…"

My eyes widen, I didn't expect that, "I'm sorry…" Is all I can think of to say.

He looks over at me, expectantly.

"I'm going to assume they told you about my parents, too?" I sigh.

"Well, your grandma did," He says.

I roll my eyes, "I should have known."


	5. Chapter 5: Fast Recovery

**(Reviews welcomed :)**

Chapter 5: Fast Recovery

I wake up in the morning and stretch with a yawn. The house is silent besides the ticking of talking clocks. The wooden floor is cold on my feet and I rush to collect my things for the day and start out of my room when the calendar catches my eye. It's been almost three months since the last Purge and my ribs almost ache with the remembrance of the night. I try to forget that I killed a man. I try to forget the smell of the blood. Shaking off the shivers, I continue to the bathroom to get ready.

My mornings are always long with getting Max around for school and making sure Nana has her medicine for the day. I tape reminders throughout the house for her, even along her walker, when she decides to use it. After I get Max on the bus, I start my two mile walk to the small diner I work at. It's a nice job considering Joe pays me under the table. He always offers to buy me a small, beater car for a little extra work, but I gratefully decline adding that I don't like driving and that I easily get motion sickness, which both in turn are lies, I just want us to continue to look like the poorest house on the block, for one night a year.

It's always odd to see the streets cleaned up after a Purging. Where bodies once lay, people walk past without a thought. It especially strikes me odd when I walk past the first pharmacy I had robbed before it burned to the ground, but to my surprise, it is being quickly rebuilt from the ashes as if it were an accident.

The air is warmer this morning and the red sky quickly fades into a pretty sky blue. My heels tap the sidewalk, annoyingly, but I still manage a smile when I walk past someone. I wear a longer jacket to hide the uniform I have to wear. It is the best job I could possibly scrounge up, not to mention the under the table pay.

I step onto the small concrete bridge, the Brent Bridge that I love to hate, which is the best way to describe our relationship. My bad fortunes always seem to find me here, the luck to bust a heel or blow an article of clothing into the water below, yet the scene is beautiful, especially with a blanket of snow.

The diner is usually a block on the other side of the bridge and on that block, there is a flower shop with delicately hanging flowers in the windows. Sometimes I will stop in to fill my nose with the sweet moisture that hangs in the air and the old woman will greet me with the kindest smile, but her daughter can only ever find a scowl for me.

I get to the end of the bridge and turn towards the flower shop. My nose is in the air excited to smell the lingering aroma of flowers. When a large purple plant hanging outside of the flower shop catches my eye, I smile. I'm so glad this store was untouched in the midst of a group of pyros setting things on fire to have a good time.

When I get closer to the window, I can see inside the small shop that it's colorful with the black lights beaming down on the fluorescent petals. The owner's daughter lazily sits behind the counter, glaring down at the floor. Maybe today wouldn't be a good day for me to stop by for a visit?

The diner's parking lot is already half-full and I sigh. Joe's truck sits in the back, rust claims the middle of the hood, slowly spreading to the outside, pushing the navy blue down the sides. I take a deep breath before I open the door. The bell doesn't fail to introduce me. Joe pokes his head out of the serving window. His bald head and goatee makes him look tougher than he really is, "Rem! 'Bout time you got here!"

"Sorry, Joe, Nana was a bit slow today," I say as I take my jacket off, "Is Trista here?"

"Yep, just went on a quick smoke break," He answers.

I look around at the customers and roll my eyes. She always takes smoke breaks and leaves me with her customers but keeps the full tip for herself, "I'm not picking up her customers today, Joe."

He finishes putting fries in the fryer and turns to me, "Okay, I'll go get her."

As he goes back, I stand at the front counter and wait for more customers to come in. It's almost ten minutes before Trista comes back in, smelling like a bar. She sneers at me and quickly makes her way around the diner to her customers. My eyes always find the horrible tattoo on the small of her back. It's funny how many of her shirts shrink in the dryer. When she comes back to pick up an order she nudges me in the shoulder.

"Sorry," The fake tone in her voice is distracting.

I bite my tongue.

Slowly, the minutes go by and lunch time has passed by an hour. Trista lounges in a chair with her feet propped up on a table, smacking gum and her fingers wildly move against her phone. I can't help but lean against the table, tapping a pen into the beat of my favorite song. A large truck pulls up to the window and parks. Five men jump out, all look like they came from building a house. Stains cover their gray wife beaters. The shirts cling to the dents of their muscles.

I look over at Trista who is gawking at them, she starts to stand up when Joe calls for her, "Give Rem these guys; you've had more customers today."

"So?" She snaps.

"Just do it," Joe sighs.

As they come through the doors, I'm picking up their menus, and I follow them to the table they've chosen. They sit and I hand out the menus, "What can I get you guys to drink?" I ask pulling out the notepad from my pocket.

"Remy?" I hear a familiar voice that sends goose bumps over my arms. I look up to see Gabe. His eyes flicker with excitement, "Finally my searching paid off!"

I can't help but smile, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, when your grandma told me you worked at a diner, we've been visiting every diner since," He explains.

I raise an eyebrow, "So you're attempting to stalk me?"

The group laughs.

"He's found you now," The eldest man says with a chuckle.

The group starts to talk amongst themselves.

"Can I get you guys some drinks?" I ask again.

Most of them order a Pepsi, but Gabe orders water. When I bring the drinks back, Trista has found her way to the table. It's not hard to tell she's showing off her breasts by having unbuttoned a few buttons of her blouse and pulling her shoulders back. None of them look very interested in her; they actually look more annoyed than anything.

"Hey, Trista, I think Joe wanted you to restock to-go plates in the front," I lie, but it needed to be done anyways.

She looks over at me, annoyed, "Then why didn't you do it."

I force a smile, "Because these are my customers, sweetie."

She snorts when she walks away, stomping her heels into the floor as she goes. I set the drinks down and I can't help but look at Gabe. He smiles at me. His face is much smoother now that the blood is gone and his eye isn't swollen anymore. His sun-kissed skin accent's his chocolate brown eyes, "Shouldn't you be in school?" He asks me.

I nod, "I should, but I dropped out and got my GED," I say, holding the notepad up to show I am ready to take their order.

"Gabe, just ask her out and get it over with," A guy to his left says, taking a sip from his cup.

"Do you guys know what you want to order?" I avoid the subject.

I go through taking down their orders, "Alright, I'll be back," I smile. At the serving window, I hand the ticket to Joe. I turn around, surprised to see Gabe that has sat down at the counter behind me.

"You're a hard person to find," He says with a slight smile.

"I'm not hiding," I shrug and lean against the table in front of him.

He takes a toothpick from a holder beside him and he twists it between his forefinger and thumb, "How's your Nana and Max?"

"They're good, how are your brothers?" I also take one, mimicking him.

"They're also good," He then snaps the toothpick between him fingers.

I smirk and look over at the table with the guys he came in with, "I'm going to guess that you work with them?"

"They are," He nods, "Yeah, the older gentleman is my boss. We work at a car garage. He owns it."

"I didn't know you were a mechanic."

He smirks with a nod, "I am, have been since I was Max's age," He says, "So… when do you get off of work?"

I start to laugh.

"Well, I have to ask now, they brought it up," He complains, "It won't be a date, really, just to catch up."

I laugh again, "We just did."

He nods, "Then when I come back, we can catch up again?"

I think a moment, "I get off at six," I look up at the clock that now reads 1:43, "You can walk me home."

He smiles, "Sounds good."


	6. Chapter 6: Catching Up

Chapter 6: Catching Up

To my surprise, Gabe shows up, at 5:55, on a crotch rocket with a bullet proof looking jacket and navy blue mechanic pants. He pulls the black helmet off and he smirks at me. I finish serving my last customers and grab my things, preparing to leave and tell Joe when Trista stops me, "He just wants to get in your pants you know?"

"Is that why you were flirting with them?" I ask, coolly.

Shock flashes across her face and she runs her tongue around the inside of her lips, "Yeah, good come back bitch."

I give her a sincere smile, "Awe, It's so cute that you think names are going to hurt my feelings," with that I turn, "I'm leaving Joe."

"See you tomorrow!" He calls behind me.

If only I could have stayed to see the look on her face, but the childish name calling would have never stopped and I have better things to do than to participate in a girl free-for-all words war. I meet Gabe in the parking lot, still fastening my coat buttons. I look up at his bike. It's a silky black with ribbons of blue stretching the length of the body.

"How did you afford this?" Is the first thing that I say.

He laughs, holding his hand out for mine, "You don't want to know."

"I thought you were walking me home?" I object.

He sighs, "Does your image include no boys too?"

"It helps," I joke, taking his hand.

He pulls me behind him and hands me his helmet, "Sorry, I only have one."

"Oh, I feel so honored to wear a helmet you probably wear after work every day," I put on the helmet and I'm surprised that it smells new.

He laughs, "I just got that helmet today."

"Today?! How long have you had the bike?"

"A while. I got it because I didn't want you to go without a helmet," He kicks the motor on and it rumbles to life, "You can hold around my waist."

I hesitate a moment, but he did carry me home that night, it's not much different. I wrap my arms around him and brace myself for the jerk forward, but when we move, it's smooth and careful. He's slow coming out of the parking lot, but he doesn't keep this up for very long. When we're on the road, he accelerates the speed quickly.

It's been so long since I've felt motion around me and I'm just gliding through it. I almost want to lift up my arms in the air. It's not very often that I ride in vehicles, let alone a motorcycle, but I'm beginning to want one myself. The rev of the engine just adds to the excitement of even sitting on a crotch rocket. I tuck my head on his back, holding tightly onto him. His back is warm and emanates sweet cologne. It's so comfortable I could go to sleep.

We begin to slow and I look up. He's brought me to a locally famous park that sits on a hill and dips down into a river. Benches along a walkway are decorated with molding of leaves and flowers. Ducks and geese float in the calm water pulling the mural together.

"I thought you were taking me home?" I ask, curiously.

He smirks at me and turns off the engine, "Is it really that bad?"

I roll my eyes and take the helmet off, running my fingers through my hair to loosen it, "I haven't been here in a long time."

"Neither have I."

We find a spot beneath a willow tree to sit. I try to ignore the fact that I'm still in my uniform and heels, "So… what to catch up on?"

He laughs, "Ahh yes," He thinks a moment, "How is Max?"

"You already asked me that?"

"I know, but now you can tell me more than just 'good'," He says.

I nod, "Okay, fair enough. Max has actually gotten a bit quiet and withdrawn," I admit, "Since the last Purge…" I say more quietly.

He looks down to the ground, "I'm sorry about that…"

"It wasn't your fault," I mumble, "I actually think he needed that… I was fourteen when I first went out to get medicine for her. Max is about to turn thirteen, I should have started to talk to him about it a while ago."

"Well, that's not always an easy decision. I don't think my younger brother really knew what it was like until he was fourteen or thirteen," He explains, "It's a young world in the poor area during the Annual Purge…"

He described it perfectly.

"According to my Nana, that's the whole reason why my parents left us with her…" I say under my breath.

"What do you mean?"

I shrug, "They didn't want to go through possibly losing us and the best way they could think of to avoid it was to not have us at all."

He doesn't say anything.

"But it's okay, I think we were meant to be with my Nana, otherwise, I don't think she would be here anymore…"

"That's very true," Gabe turns his have over to show the scar across his palm, "Thanks to you, and I mean that in the most sincere way possible, I'm clean now."

I smile, but I'm confused, "Why thanks to me?"

"I had somewhere to stay and I got fixed up. I learned that life is too valuable to play with it," He explains, "I don't think I would have realized that if I hadn't met you, Max and your grandma."

I grin, "I'm glad that we helped."

He nods, "Because of my change, my brothers have been dying to meet you," He says in a hinting tone.

I instantly shake my head, "They know I Purge?!" I exclaim in a hushed tone.

"They just know I met you, they don't know where or when," He clarifies.

I watch his face to make sure he's not lying, "Okay."

We sit and watch the sun go down over the valley before we decide to go back to my house. I'm excited to feel the rush of riding again. I loosen my hold on him on the way home, just to feel the breeze through my arms. When we pull up to my house, it's dark and seems empty. I hastily get off the bike and go inside. All of the lights are turned off besides my Nana's room where I can see Max sitting on the edge of her bed.

I go into her room and see that she is helping him with homework on tray tables. It takes Nana a moment to realize that I had entered the room, "Oh, there you are."

"Sorry, I ran into someone," I go over, kneeling down between the tables, "Is everything okay?"

"I gave her, her medicine, so she's taken it," Max says robotically.

"So I'm just someone now?" Gabe stands in the threshold of the room.

Max's eyes light up, "Gabe!"

"Why hello Gabe, how have you been?" My Nana asks.

"I've been great, sorry I kept Remy so long," He apologizes.

Nana stands and opens her arms for Gabe, "No worries son, I know she's in good hands when she's with you," She says as she hugs him.

How much did they talk about when I was passed out? They must have gotten to know each other more than I was informed. My Nana doesn't warm up to too many people, let alone trust them with either me or Max. I haven't seen Max excited in three months, "We were just catching up," I add.

"You should take her out more often, she needs it," Nana says to Gabe.

He laughs, helping her sit back down on the bed, "I think she's warming up to me a bit," He says, winking at me.

I smile.

He ends up staying late into the night talking with Max and Nana. I didn't realize how much they had all talked in the short time that I was sleeping. They talked about things from my parents to my participating in the Purge to Max and I when we were young. Of course, it shouldn't surprise me as much as it has since once you get my Nana going, she can talk your ear off if you'd ever let her.

So, when it came to saying goodbye, I let him do most of the talking. I forced myself to stay outside with him even until he had pulled out of our small gravel driveway. Even the short, simple goodbyes make my palms sweat and my throat swells. It was nice to catch up with him, if you want to call it catching up.


	7. Chapter 7: Reminder

Chapter 7: Reminder

A light tapping at my window wakes me and I sit up. I rub my eyes, my arms seem to move slower than normal. I look over and a dark shadowy figure stands outside the window, patiently waiting for me to come over. I peer through the foggy glass, but I can't make out the face, it's dark and blurry. Hesitantly, I open the window, slightly. Stubby fingers of a man come through the small opening and he pushes it all the way open. I stumble backwards in surprise and panic. I reach to close the window but he's already started to climb through.

Before I can turn around and run, I'm pushed to the floor. He flips me over on my back, dripping with blood from his neck. He begins to scream in my ear. Slowly, hit lifts his hand up then drives it down, hitting me across the left temple. Disoriented, I kick him off and attempt to get to my feet when he pulls me down again. I scream as loud as my lungs will allow me.

"Remy!" The soothing voice echoes through my room, "Remy!"

I wake to Gabe holding me tightly, "I can't ignore it, anymore, Gabe. I can't ignore the fact that I killed someone."

"I know," He runs his fingers through my hair, "And I regret that you have to carry that burden, I really do… I'm so sorry!"

My stomach turns slowly. I push him away and jump off my bed, heading for the bathroom. I make it to the toilet just before I vomit. I sit there a moment before I flush and clean myself up. My Nana appears in the doorway behind her is Gabe.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" She asks.

I nod, violently brushing my teeth.

"You need a vacation," Nana begins to rub my back.

I spit, "No, I can't leave Max here to take care of you all by himself."

"I'll be fine Rem," He mutters, leaning against the doorframe, "I'm not a twelve year old baby anymore."

The boy I once knew who would throw a fit if his curly, sandy blonde hair was shorter than his ears now has it cut short and spiked with gel. His hazel eyes are bright now that the bangs, that would cast a small shadow across his face, are gone.

Shocked, I say, "I never called you a baby, Max…"

"I know," He stands up straight, "I can take care of Nana."

I look at Gabe and he shrugs.

As usual, my goodbyes are short, but I fill them with "I love you's" and "be careful" or "I'll miss you". In return, my Nana usually tries to keep me a little longer than my comfort will allow, but Max keeps it to a minimum of two sentences.

At last minute, Gabe arranges for us and his two brothers to go camping and after securing my bag to the back, we take off, "Are you sure you have everything?"

"Yes!" I reassure him, again.

Of course, I let Joe know, and he didn't mind, but it makes me uneasy to miss work, even with how laid back he is, "Just make sure you come back," He says to me.

On our ride to Gabe's house, I think about my nightmare. I'm going to guess that maybe it's because we just hit the half-way mark yesterday. Six months from the last Purge and six to the next. I don't like thinking of having to go out to Purge. I don't like thinking of leaving Nana and Max alone for so long with lunatics out to wreak havoc just because they can. The Purge was an unsettling concept that the government approved, and here we are. The rich are protected by a high-tech protection system and us poor people are left to fend for ourselves.

The unemployment rate may be down to the 1%, and the government boasts as if they have figured out the secret of economics, but they don't tell you the Purge death rates and they certainly never connect the two. We have jobs… because the last guy who had it was killed in during The Annual Purge.

Before long, I notice we've entered into a wealthier neighborhood. Most homes here are gated. We pull into a driveway but we're stopped by a gate, "Hold a moment," He gets off the bike and goes over to a small black box. After pushing in a code, the gate opens and he gets back on the bike, "Remember when I told you my parents both died during a Purge?"

I nod.

"Well, we each inherited a part of their wealth," He creeps up the long windy and curvy driveway.

My face gets warm, "You guys are rich?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Even after three months of us, kind of, dating, I don't know almost anything about his home or family life. I had briefly met his brothers when they all had stopped by at the diner, but I had no idea that they were rich.

"I didn't want you to think differently of me," He gets even slower, almost pushing the bike with his legs.

"So you make me think that you're poor too?"

He finally stops and turns to me, "No, it wasn't like that at all. I just didn't want you to judge me for being rich."

I glare at him, "Why would you think I would judge you?" Before he has time to answer I cut him off, "Why, with being rich, would you risk your life to steal pills when you could safely just pay for them any other time of the year?"

"Because that's called drug dealing and I'm not into that crowd," He sighs, "I didn't want to chance you not talking to me anymore…"

"None of your reasons make any sense. I haven't given you a reason to think any of those things…" I catch myself digging my nails into the leather seat.

He resumes up the driveway, more quickly now, "Please, just imagine how that would look… or better yet why that would scare me."

I do, I try. I put myself in his position. Thinking back, I'm the person who asks for help and he comes to help me. I carry him back to this old house, that might as well be a boarded up shack, and his lovely family takes me in for the rest of the night. Is the first thing I would want him to know that I was rich…? Probably not. He's already admitted to me that he was addicted to pills, it probably would have changed my view of him, like it just now had, if I knew he was rich. What was it any of my business why he got addicted to pills? Why he was risking his life for it?

"I'm sorry…" I say, quietly, "Wealth status doesn't matter in the world of the Purge…"

He smiles.

Of course, that statement had a bit of truth to it. You wouldn't be able to tell a poor person from a rich person during the Purge. A dead body is a dead body, what they're leaving behind, whether it be family or friends, doesn't matter; they already have to fend for themselves.

A large house appears around a corner. Beautiful tall pillars covered in ivy vines frame the front of the house. A three bay garage is the first extension of the house. Even from a distance away, I can see that the windows are bared, but in an intricate design of swirls and curves. The front door is wooden, holding the same design. We enter into the garage where two other cars sit. I'm not a big car fanatic, but if I were, I'm sure I'd be more impressed than I already am. Not to mention the neatly sorted tools.

"I don't think I've seen an organized garage before, ever," I say, getting off of the bike.

Gabe chuckles, "Yeah, I can't work in a hectic space. Not here, not at work."

I bite my lip for a moment, but can't help but ask, "Why do you work as a mechanic anyways?"

He shrugs, "I'm good at it and I don't like being lazy."

I nod, "That's a good reason."

I start to get my bag when he stops me, "Leave it, I'll get it."

He leads me up four steps and in through a door that opens into a small mud room. This room is even neat with coat and shoe racks, "Are you sure three guys live here?"

He bursts out in laughter, "Don't give us any credit, a maid comes once a day to clean the place."

"That makes sense."

The mud room leads into a beautiful stainless steel kitchen with black marble covering the floors and countertops. In the middle of the kitchen is an island long enough to seat four chairs. Across the kitchen is the dining room with cherry wood and a chandelier above the table.

"The living room is down here," He points at an opening where steps lead down into a tan-white carpet, "Here the bathroom," The bathroom sits between the kitchen and dining room, "Down that hallway is my room and that door in the hallway leads down into the basement and up the stairs. It's an odd house, but it works."

"If I could choose to live anywhere, it would be here," I say, mesmerized by the design.

Gabe laughs, "I'm glad you like it."

I nod, "I do, I like it."

"Is that Remy?" A voice comes from the living room.

"Yeah," Gabe calls back, "She's going to stay here for a bit."

I look at him, "We're not going camping?"

"Nope, I thought it would be nice for you to live in a nice house for a while," He grins.

"Why do you always surprise me like this?" I sigh.

I didn't want to show him that I was actually excited. The house is beautiful and while I'm here, they won't have to worry about paying a maid. I cook and clean, no big deal, it's the least I can do for them letting me stay.

I follow Gabe back through the hallway he said his room in. Wooden doors, similar to the front door, are scattered about. He stops at the one at the end of the hallways and opens it. The room is about the size of my house, but it is separated with two levels connected with stairs. On the top level is his bed covered with blue sheets and at the bottom is a long black couch facing a large TV with multiple gaming systems placed inside a cabinet. Tool boxes are stacked on each side of the couch to be used for end tables.

"This is so… you," I say.

He chuckles, "Thank you."

"The couch is comfortable, right?" I ask, starting down to try it out.

"Yeah, I watch movies all the time and my ass never gets sore."

I laugh, "Good because I need a break from my mattress. That thing is about as old as I am."

"Oh, no. You're not sleeping on the couch, you're sleeping in my bed," He turns me around to direct me towards the large bed.

"Wait, so where are you going to sleep?"

"The couch," He sighs, pushing me towards the bed.

First I test it with my hand and then I sit. I've never experienced anything more comfortable. Hesitantly I lay down, sinking into the comforters, "I'm not sure it's a good idea I stay here."

"Why is that?"

"I don't know if I'll want to leave," I joke.

He laughs, "That's okay, you can come over anytime you want."

**(Let me know what ya'll think so far. :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Drawing Closer

Chapter 8: Drawing Closer

My eighteenth birthday is today, which is only an indication of the Purge drawing every so closely. The Annual Purge is always only a couple months from my birthday, making it a bitter-sweet occasion for me. In the past few months, my Nana has gotten worse to the point where she is now bedridden and I've cut my hours to take care of her when Max is at school.

I regret putting so much on a thirteen year olds shoulders, but he's never given me any reason to think he couldn't handle it. He certainly has grown since the last Purge, at an alarming rate that almost worries me. He does well with Nana, always there when she needs him and he's never complained of having to help me out with her.

"Happy birthday, Rem!" I can hear Gabe call through my window as he gets off of his bike.

I can only poke my head out and smile.

Max stops at my door, "Happy birthday."

I turn to him. His shoulders are tight and his face is frozen into a scowl, "Oh Max," I step towards him and without warning I pick him up into a hug.

He doesn't push me off like I expected him too. Maybe that's all he needed was some affection? "Are you going out today?"

I set him down, "No, why would I be going out?"

Gabe stops behind me.

"Because Nana said you and Gabe might want to go out and do something for your birthday," He says.

I shake my head, "No, I'm not going to leave you guys on my birthday."

A smile flickers across his face, "Okay."

Gabe surprised me with a gift and reassures me that there is more to come, "You can open it now if you want."

It's a small silver rectangular box with a gigantic ribbon on the top. At first I'm afraid to open it and find a ring, but we haven't even confirmed whether we are dating yet. My fingers lift the top and a thin plastic card sits at the bottom. I look at it curiously. When I pull the card out, there is another.

"What is it?" I flip the plain white plastic around in my hands.

"Here Max, why don't you show her?" He hands the second piece to Max and yet another lays on the bottom.

Max immediately goes over to the hidden door that leads down to the basement and swipes it over the wall. The door slides open. My eyes widen and I approach the door. I can see that the wood has now been replaced with metal. The stairs are now metal. I can't think of anything to say, I can only just look at Gabe.

He grins, "Go on, check it out."

I step inside and it is much roomier than I remember. The walls don't hug you on your way down the steps. The wood is gone and with it so is the creaking. When I clear the wall, the basement has been completely redone into a safe room. A large flat screen TV sits along the far wall and a large couch sits in front of it. I can see that he's also managed to throw in a few game consoles for Max.

Nana's bed has been replaced with an actual hospital bed and it sits comfortably in its own little room. Fake windows sit beside and in front of the bed, both showing a view of a beach, something Nana always mumbles about. To the left of the small room the basement was extended for a kitchenette that resembles much of Gabe's home.

He points to box on the wall. I open it and there is a large red button, "You hit that in case anything happens."

"How did you do this?!"

"You work a lot, whether you think you do or not," He gives me a charming smile.

I'm speechless. It's the only way I can describe it, "How much did this cost you."

"Nothing. This is all the work me and my brothers put in," Gabe looks over the work, smiling with content.

"That's the labor, what about everything else?"

He shrugs, "I can't remember, but it doesn't matter now, it's all here."

I allow tears to fall from my eyes, "I don't know what to say and I can't think of how to repay you."

Max comes from behind us, "Did you see the games! He got me games!"

"I see that," I smile widely.

"And there is a secret room beside the TV, for extra precaution," Gabe explains, pointing to another hidden door.

Without a word I turn, pull his face down to mine and I kiss him. I couldn't think of anything else that could show him how much I appreciated this. My family will be safe during the Purge now and he knows how much that matters to me, obviously.

"Thank you!" I say, trying to keep my tears under control.

He laughs, kissing me again, "Of course."

**(Sorry this chapter is so short, I've been preoccupied with finals and other stories and books, lol. But I will be wrapping it up here soon though so I hope you all enjoy and let me know if you have any suggestions or anything. Thanks for reading! :)**


	9. Chapter 9: A Night to Rest

Chapter 9: A Night to Rest

Everyone at the diner can notice how distracted I am and I find it odd how they can go about their normal lives without thinking about it. The Purge has come around the corner and is now here. Tomorrow, I will have a different shopping list. My Nana has become too sick to stand and she's begging me to just get her pain meds. At first, I fought with her about it, but the more she begged, the worse I felt. I shouldn't keep her in a life that she is suffering in. She promised me she would do it without anyone knowing, so it will be as if she had passed away in her sleep. Of course, I will know that she didn't, but Max is unaware of the arrangement and will hopefully handle her passing.

I have a little of ease this year now that our basement, our bunker, was remodeled into a safe room. Max will have things to pass his time now and Nana will have a comfortable bed to sleep on to pass time. I think I will perform better knowing that they are safe and not at the mercy of an angry man.

"I'm leaving now, Joe!" I call through the serving window, but all I get is a hand waved in the air.

I wrap my jacket around me and collect my things. Usually Gabe would be here to take me home, but tonight I asked him to stay home. I need this little time to think and see the scenery around me before it turns to hell again, one night a year. It's hard to un-see a Purge, and it's hard to forget where the bodies lay, like an invisible outline on the ground. Every year sticks with you; maybe that's why some people like to participate in the Purge?

I get home to a silent house and I find Max sleeping in a chair besides Nana's bed. Nana sleeps most of the day now, the only thing she really can do. I change out of my uniform and get into something comfortable. Quietly, I check through the house. I have been slacking off with the upkeep of the house. I've been too busy being with Gabe that it's been bumped down on my priority list, unfortunately. It really should be first, all year around, but it gets tiring to worry about the Purge all of the time.

I usually worry about the outside. The stairs squeaking could give me away or the rusty hinges in the doors, both of which I have to fix every year. As badly as I feel about it, I'm almost relieved to only worry about going out one more time. The pressure of having to go out and get medicine has worn on me over the years to the point where that's all I think about.

I open the back door to listen for the hinges, but they are silent. I walk up and down the steps and it's always the last one that squeals, but it doesn't matter how many times I try to fix it, the nail's always somehow come loose.

"Remy?" Max comes outside.

I look up at him, both feet on different steps, "Hey Max."

"Are you getting ready for tomorrow?" He asks, sitting on the first step.

I nod, continuing on with my inspection.

"Is Gabe going with you this year?"

When I'm comfortable with how the steps sound, I sit next to him, "Maybe, I'm not sure, why?"

"So you can be safer," He says, looking down to the ground.

"I'm safe every year," I protest.

He shakes his head, "You got hurt last year, remember?"

I try not to.

"Nana isn't looking good…" He whispers.

This was the conversation I was trying to avoid, "I know she isn't…"

"Why? She's been taking her medicine…"

"Because the medicine can only do so much, Max… Nana has been sick for a long time, she has been fighting a long time," I know he knows what death is and I know that he knows that it happens to everyone but I don't have it in me to talk about our Nana like it didn't matter.

He picks at his fingernails, "Then why are you going to get her more medicine?"

His question catches me off guard. I never would have expected him to ask me something like this, "Because she still needs medicine to be comfortable and I want her to be as comfortable as possible."

"But you go out every year!" His voice rises.

"Max, she's taken us in, she's raised us. What else was I supposed to do?" I regret having this conversation with him, but I know I can't avoid it forever.

He starts to pick at the wood on the railing, "Gabe should go for you."

"It's not his responsibility."

"Then I will go for you!" He snaps.

"No, you're not!" This is the last thing I want to do before having to go out during The Annual Purge.

He turns to me, his face red, "I can do it! I'm older now! You started going out when you were fourteen, well I'm only a year away from that!"

"Max, I'm not even going to entertain the thought of you going out, someone needs to be here for Nana anyways," I try to keep as calm as possible.

"You can stay then," Max snaps.

I take a deep breath before I won't be able to control myself, "Max, the Purge isn't a game. The Purge is a release for people who want to do bad things to other people. The Purge is not a walk in the park. I cannot stress to you enough how dangerous the Purge really is and you are too young and my baby brother. I don't care how old you are, I will go out there until you're fifty for all I care, but you're not going out there, end of story."

By this time I expected to have seen a change in Max, maybe that he might calm down or take my words into consideration, but he doesn't, he just gives me a sneer and walks back into the house.

I run my hands through my hair in a second attempt to control myself. My eyes then jump around to make sure that no one was within ear shot of the conversation. I bury my face between my knees and keep breathing. What happened to Max? I begin to rock, just to keep my energy down.

"Rem? Are you okay?" I hear Gabe's voice in front of me.

I look up and I know that my face is red, "No. I just had the worst conversation imaginable with Max."

"Why? What happened?" He sits beside me.

I tell him the conversation and how frustrated I am with the situation. He just gives me a cool smile and tells me it's going to be okay and for some reason, I believe him. Gabe knows how to calm me down and best of all, he can handle me.

"You have to remember, he's struggling right now," Gabe says, "He's a thirteen year old _boy_ who's seeing both of the women in his life suffering. That's hard on him, he feels like he needs to be doing something."

I never really thought of it that way, I've always thought of Max as my baby brother. I've always thought of him as a baby…

"He understands a lot more than you think," He continues, "Someone hurt his sister during the last Purge and he can't stand the thought of that happening again."

I rest my head back down on my knees, "But he doesn't need to get aggravated with me, I don't do anything…"

"I know, but he doesn't know any other way of expressing himself."

I nod.

"That's why I should go out for you this year," Gabe says as if it's just a trip to the store.

I give him a look, "No, it's not your responsibility."

"Well, I'd like to think that you are and I'd like to make sure that you're protected and safe here, that's why I fixed up your basement, I wasn't planning on you going out this year."

My face gets hot. I'm not sure if it was from flattery or annoyance, "I'm not letting you go out for me and I'm not having this conversation again!"

Before I can stand he stops me, "Okay. I don't want you mad at me, but here are my conditions. If you go, I go. That simple."

I look over his face and then nod, "Alright. Well, if those are your conditions we need to go over some things first."

And, of course, that means a shadow tutorial.


	10. Chapter 10: The Night to Survive

Chapter 10: _The_ Night to Survive

It's that time again, sitting in front of the clock, staring at the time. I usually do this the day of a Purge because they say that time goes slower and this is when I put it to the test. It does work, but I never do get anything done. Gabe is here to help this year. He stayed last night to be here early in the morning. He and Max carry our valuable things down in the basement, as we do every year.

Nana is now mute. When she isn't sleeping she's staring up at the ceiling with her mouth slightly open as if trying to say something. She can still take her pills; it's just a longer process now. I've notice that Max stays in her room most of the day and once in a while I will catch him sleeping at the end of her bed.

"You alright, Rem?" Gabe is now sitting in front of me, waving his hand in front of my face to get my attention.

I blink and nod, "Yeah, I just can't believe it's here again…"

"I know, but we're making the best of it."

Before I know it, the alert is going off. I flinch and my heart squeezes. Gabe takes my hand and gives me a reassuring smile, "It'll be okay."

"This is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the Annual Purge sanctioned by the U.S Government.

Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continues hours."

Gabe and I get prepared, putting our dark clothing and masks on.

"Police, fire and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning at 7 a.m., when the Purge concludes.

"Blessed be out New Founding Fathers and America, A nation reborn.

May God be with you all."

I say with the woman, as I do every year.

I count the sirens 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… and 6…

Gabe pulls the handle on the breaker and all of the lights go out, "Here, take this," He hands me a belt.

"What is this for?"

He then hands me a gun, "For this."

"A gun?!"

"I wasn't kidding about protecting you," He shows me the gun resting in its holder.

I wrap the belt around my waist, making sure the gun will be out of the way of my knife. I practice pulling them out a few times, "Thank you."

This year, I wasn't going to waste any time waiting for the shadows to darken. I feel much safer with Gabe with me. We look through the windows to check if anyone was outside, especially keeping an eye out for people wielding weapons.

When no one can be seen, we head out, slipping down the steps, making sure to miss the very last one. We start down through the alley. Few people are out now, which would be odd if it weren't the same as last year. Gabe keeps close to me as we make out way to the first pharmacy. It's quiet as it gets dark. Gave doesn't speak, he only motions to me. We approach the small pharmacy, wearily, and when Gabe decides it's safe, we move forward, quickly breaking through the glass.

I go through first and Gabe follows me. I relax knowing that we are here first, which will make the job quick and simple. Immediately we start rummaging through the small room. Luckily, they had rebuilt it exactly how it was before.

"I wonder why they don't keep the medicine in a vault," Gabe wonders aloud.

I look at him, "Because they know there are people like us," I say, remembering the note from the other pharmacy from last year.

As we continue to search through, I pull out a drawer with a loud pop coming from inside. A ticking starts. I look down through the drawer, but all that I can see is darkness.

"Gabe?" I call, "What is that?"

"What is what?"

"Listen…"

The ticking grows louder and increases in speed.

Gabe grabs my arm and pulls me into him, turning his back to the drawer. At that moment, I have never heard a noise so loud or a light so bright.

We're thrown away from the explosion and I hit the wall and fall to the floor. My ears ring so loudly I can't hear anything else. I try to move, but my body hurts too badly so I rest, but only for a second. I start to get to my knees, "Gabe!" I scream.

The fire that has started thickens the air with heat. Another explosion goes off and I hit the wall again.

"Gabe!" I lay on the floor.

Finally, a heap starts to rise from beneath the rubble and I rush to my feet to help him, "We need to go, we need to go now," He is surprisingly strong for having just been in an explosion.

"They're in here!" A voice yells.

My mouth instantly gets dry, "Who's that?"

Gabe's muscles stiffen, "Go hide!"

Right as he speaks two men enter from the emergency exit. They coldly grin, grabbing onto us, "That was too easy."

"Just let her go, you can have me," Gabe says, calmly.

They drag us out into the street where the men multiply. Ten men stand around us, holding blunt objects and grinning eagerly. My heart pounds so hard it almost hurts, "What do you want?" My voice shakes.

They all laugh.

"Remember last year, when you killed one of our men saving this pathetic piece of shit?" One man gets in my face, our nose's basically touching, "Well that was my brother and we've been waiting all year for this!"

He steps back and, without warning, punches me in the gut. I double over with the feeling of having to vomit, "You were going to kill him, I didn't mean to kill your brother," I breathe, "I have nightmares about it all the time."

"Good!" His knee hits my nose.

An unbearable pain shoots through my skull and I frantically hold it, blood covering my hands, "Just let me do what I have to do and I will come to you next year, but I have to get home!"

He laughs, kneeling down next to me. His fingers grip into my hair and he holds my head up, "You mean that home?"

Down the street I can see that my house was on fire. It wasn't the small fire that would be easy to navigate around in and put out; the entire house was up in flames. Tears fill my eyes, "No, no…"

"Remy!" For a second my heart lightens when I hear Max's voice, but then panic takes over.

"No! No, you let him go!" I struggle against him and he pulls me to my feet by my hair.

"The night has only begun," He whispers in my ear.


	11. Chapter 11: Barely Alive

Chapter 11: Barely Alive

Gabe struggles behind me, cursing and fighting with the men that hold onto him. They take him over to a lamp post and cuff his hands behind him around it. I try to keep track of everyone, luckily they don't hold me still. I know where Max is and the man who's brother I killed and, obviously, Gabe. As my eyes scan through the situation, a sharp pain shoots in my side and I look down to see a knife sticking in my side.

"Remy!" Max yells.

I drop to my knees only to be stood back up by my hair, "Let them go, you have me," I spit blood.

"No, I want you to see your brother die," He says in my ear.

"He's just a kid," I feel the tears in my eyes and that cold sensation that runs through your body when you're terrified.

They drag him closer and he doesn't fight of struggle. My hand reaches down for my gun, but it's missing. Max's eyes fill with tears, "I'm sorry, Remy!" He chokes.

"No, no, you didn't do anything!" I say, watching the man stand behind him and hold the knife to his throat, "I love you, Max! So much!"

"I love you too, Remy."

He was so brave. He is the bravest thirteen year old I have ever known or ever heard of. As the man dragged the knife across his neck, he managed to smile at me. In all of the pain he was in, drowning in his blood, the last thing he wanted me to see was his smile. And I screamed, I know I did because it hurt my throat. My eyes stung with the salty tears that never ended. That was my little brother, he was my baby brother that I basically raised. He was my best friend and some days the only thing that got me going.

And when the blood emptied from his face and he fell to the ground, my fight was over. There is nothing left for me to fight for. There is nothing to fight with; my energy is gone with him. Gabe screams behind me, but the noises are muffled. Reality starts to blur. The top of my skull numbs first and I wail out with a painful cry. Now I would give anything to say goodbye to him, to give him the longest goodbye I possibly could.

"How did that feel, huh?" He asks me, getting in my face, "Watching your brother bleed to death?"

I muster up the coldest snicker I possibly can and I look at him in the eyes, "He was thirteen years old and he took it like a man unlike your brother who screamed like a little girl."

He angrily chuckles and pulls my face down into his knee when I black out.

I open my eyes to gun shots. Bright flashes of light fill the air around me. My shoulder throbs with a sharp, searing pain. I can barely lift my head off the ground before I black out again.

"Remy?" A soothing voice calls my name.

I attempt to open my eyes, but they are too heavy.

"Remy, come on, open your eyes, move something, let me know that you're still here, you're still alive, please!?" Gabe pleads.

"Max," I breathe barely a whisper.

There's a long silent pause.

"Save Max," I say.

Gabe holds my hand, "Remy, he's gone."

I shake my head, or at least I think I do, "He's with Nana."

"I know, but not the way you think," His voice cuts off, "They burned the house, your grandma didn't make it out."

"Where is Max?" I fight for my eyes to open.

Gabe holds me up and points over to a small heap on the ground. His shadow, casted by the fire, touches my feet. I push up and crawl over to Max. His face is calm and pale, blood no longer gushes from his throat. I pull him up into my lap and hold him for a while.

We take Max's body over to the house. His body lays next to the fire, I know it will warm him, he is so cold his skin is like ice. I know he won't like that, he would much rather lie closely to the fire. Before we leave, I write a letter to put with his body, because my brother is not just a body, he is an angel.

My name is Max Collins and I am thirteen years old.

I died to save my sister, Remy Collins.

Inside the burned house is my Nana, Rose Williams.

Please be respectful of our bodies because we

were once living people, too.

I leave them there, numbly. We are all loaded into a dark van. Gabe and I lay in the back. I know that my shoulder is bleeding and that blood runs down my face like a stream. Gabe holds me, begging me to hold on. I've lost a lot of blood, but I'm okay to die, "I love you, Gabe," I smile, "You're a pretty cool guy."

"No! Re-"

And I feel warm and comfortable, all of my pain disappears. A smile crosses my face.


	12. Chapter 12: The White Room

Chapter 12: The White Room

A metallic hum echoes through the air. It's warm and comfortable, as if sinking into a cloud. Light streams through, so bright it's unnaturally white. A pain starts in my side, then my shoulder. My head pulses with a head ache. My hands grip the sheets and my teeth clench. I know this is not what death feels like.

My vision becomes clearer and I completely open my eyes. A white room surrounds me with white curtains. I go to move my hand and something pulls, stinging my skin. The room suddenly gets darker and my eyes ache with adjusting.

"Remy?" Gabe's voice calls me back out of the clouds and into a hospital bed.

"It's hurts!" I breathe.

There's a short pause before, "Nurse! Nurse!" Another voice calls.

I close my eyes to get the calming sense of darkness.

Commotion stirs around me.

"Glad to see you're awake," The nurse's voice is high and cheerful, "Are you having any pain?"

"Yes!" I squeeze my eyes shut.

After a few minutes, the pain softens, "Can I get you to answer a few questions for me?"

"Where's Max?" That's all I really care about right now.

"He was buried last month…" Gabe says quietly beside me.

Warm tears fall from my eyes, cooling as they go, "And Nana?"

"She's next to him," He grips my left hand.

"I want to see them," I open my eyes.

He leans closer to me.

"You can't right now, sweetie, you're at the hospital," I can feel the nurse rest her hand on my arm, "Can I ask you those questions?"

I nod and look over at her. A tall woman stands at my right. Her auburn hair is pulled back into a bun. Her face lacks makeup, but her natural beauty makes up for it. Beauty marks also decorate her face. Her eyes are soft and caring when she looks at me, I can only imagine what I look like. I've been in the hospital for a month and I missed my brother and my Nana's funeral. My throat swells.

"How much pain are you in?" She asks.

I shake my head, "Not much anymore."

"Okay, what is your full name?"

"Remy Collins."

She holds her hand in front of me, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Five."

"Good," She smiles, "I will be back in a little while to check up on you."

She leaves the room. Gabe leans over me, pressing his lips into mine, "I thought you were going to die!"

Tears continue to fall from my eyes, "I'm alone now… My family is gone."

I can't help but burst into tears. My family is gone all because I helped Gabe from a gang of men that were going to kill him. What if I had done it differently? What if I had left Gabe there to be killed? Sure I would have felt bad and, most likely, would have had nightmares about it, but it would have spared my family, and they would still be here.

But I like Gabe, he means a lot to me. We've been through a lot together and I can't imagine life without him. It hurts to think that if I had let him die my family would still be here. I would lose either way, wouldn't I? If I would have left him, he would have died, but I didn't… My mind races.

"What happened?" I notice two shadows lingering around the room, "Who's here?"

"My brothers are here," He says, "They gunned down the group after you were knick unconscious."

I reach up to touch my face, "Did he break my nose?"

Gabe nods, "He did but they fixed it."

"How long have I been here?" I could tell by my muscle weakness that it has been a while.

"A month and a half," He says.

"What happened to my shoulder?!" I am afraid to move it.

Gabe shoots one of the shadows a look and sighs, "You were hit with a bullet while unconscious."

"That figures," I try to make the best of the situation, now that it is done and over with. Nothing can be done about it now.

"He hit you in the head so hard and on so many occasions that he gave you a concussion and hemorrhaging," He explains, "So the best thing they could do for you at the time was to let you sleep, but then you slipped into coma."

I look around the room at flowers and cards, "Who are these from?"

"Us, Joe, and even Trista stopped by," Gabe shows me a bouquet of lilies.

"You're kidding, right?" I sit up and my head gets dizzy, "Do they know how this happened to me?!"

Gabe rushes over, "Don't do that yet! You might not be ready!" He forces me to lay back down, "No, they think it was an accident. It looked like it."

I sigh in relief, "When can I leave?" I lay back down.

"They haven't given us a time yet or really much information at all, we're not completely family," One of his brothers, I remember as John, says.

I look over at him, he resembles much of Gabe, but with a longer face and calmer eyes, "Completely?"

"Well, yeah…" Gabe starts, avoiding my eyes but with a smirk on his face, "I sorta told them we were engaged?"

"What?! Why?!"

"So I could be with you. I just told them the ring was stolen during the Purge," He explains.

That word make my chest hurt and my throat swell.

"I'm sorry," I can tell by Gabe's reaction that he could see the pain that word brought to me, "I won't say it again."

"It's okay," I force a smile.

When the nurse comes back in we discuss my discharge and she says when I am able to get up and use the bathroom. I try to sit up again, but get an overwhelming dizziness. She explains that I am moving too fast for my head and it will take a while for me to not get dizzy when sitting up or even standing.

After being able to use the bathroom, the doctor comes in to see me. He is surprised at my determination to get home, but he doesn't question it. He evaluates me and makes sure that I would be safe going home. And after a half hour they come back and let me know that I am able to leave. The nurse takes all of the IV's out of my arm.

Gabe gives me a bag of clothes, that I know aren't mine, and I go to the bathroom. I'm not surprised that they would throw my old clothes out and I hoped that they would. They were mangled and blood stained, not exactly something I wanted to walk _out_ of the hospital looking like. Luckily, Gabe knows my taste and I put on a dark blue sweater over a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans that fit a little loose.

"I guess I could have gotten smaller pants, I didn't realize you were so small!" Gabe pulls the loose pant leg off.

I look down and notice I have lost some weight, "I have been in the hospital for a while. I'm sure they would fit if it weren't in that case."

Of course, they bring me outside in a wheelchair and Gabe pulls up in a hummer. I roll my eyes, "You got a hummer?!"

"Yeah, I wanted you to be safe," He gives me a charming smile, "And I knew you probably wouldn't want to go home on a crotch rocket."

"You're right," I laugh as they help me up into the seat.

The car smells brand new and I can see some tags left around the seats, "I still have my crotch rocket though!"

"I hoped you would!"

**(I hope you liked the chapter, it took me a little while because I wasn't sure if I wanted to kill Remy or not, but I just couldn't. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)**


	13. Chapter 13: The Graveyard

Chapter 13: The Graveyard

Gabe brought me back to his house. There was nothing left of mine to go back to. There I recovered. I quit my job at the diner and Gabe forced me to sign up for college. It was hard to start back up. It was hard not to see Nana and Max every day. And it was especially hard getting used to the fact that I no longer had anyone to take care of, I was the one now being taken care of.

But like Gabe always says, "It's your turn now."

But I feel lazy and useless, especially since classes haven't started yet. In return to sending me to school I made the boys fire the maid and now my days are filled with cleaning a mansion. But Gabe does a good job with taking me out. He never allows me to stay in the house longer than two days straight and if he can't take me out, he reminds me that I can take myself out with the new car he bought me.

"Why have you done all of this for me?" I ask, lying next to him.

He smiles, "You saved my life and now I can say with all the honesty in the world that I was saved by an angel."

Of course that makes me blush, "Is that the only reason? Because I saved you?"

He looks at me a little offended, "Of course not… It just so happens that I fell in love with her," And he leans in to kiss me, caressing my face with his rough calloused hand and touching me with his soft lips.

But today was one of those days. He called me to let me know that he was going to work late tonight, "I'm sorry, we just got three cars they are expecting to be ready in two days."

"It's okay," I tell him, "I have an idea of what to do."

I sit in front of Max and Nana. Gabe had bought beautifully carved stones for both of them and they tower over most, but they aren't monuments. I lay flowers down for Nana and I leave a long letter for Max. I know he would rolls his eyes and complain if I got him flowers, "I'm a boy, Remy, why would you get _me_ flowers?" Tears fall when I think of him.

"I signed up for college, Gabe is going to pay. I'm not sure what I'm going to do right now but I have a year to think about it," I tell them, "He's really a great guy. I know you guys saw it before me and would probably say "Told you so" but he's taken care of me really well."

I allow the silence to respond.

"I had the house torn down and they're building another house there. Gabe and I worked to get the two streets named after you guys…" I take this time to talk to them since my last visit was short and full of tears, "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I'm sorry that I put you in this situation…"

I look down at my hands, allowing the tears to drop into my palm.

"I think I know what I want to do…" I begin to break the news I know they won't like, "I think I'm going to do medicine runs for people…"

"What are you thinking?! Are you out of your mind?!" I know my Nana would say.

Max would scowl at me, "I don't like you going out there…"

"I don't like you going out for me, let alone some strangers!" Nana would add.

"I know, I know. But I can change many lives; I can help a lot of people by doing this! I think I could do it easily," I make an effort to smile, "It won't be so bad. I could go to training, get really cool weapons."

"You're out of your mind," Nana would shake her head.

"Then I will get the training and go with you!" Max insists.

"I thought you would think it was cool Max, I'm gunna be kinda like a hero," I joke.

Both Nana and Max would look at me and I know exactly what they would say, "You're already a hero…"

I break down, leaning down with my head in my palms, "How am I going to do this? How can I keep pretending everything is okay without you guys?!"

"You have Gabe now," Nana would try to console me.

Max would wrap his arms around me, "It's okay, Rem… We're okay."

I look back up to their graves, "I love you guys…"

Silence answers me again.

"I love you guys so much…"

I got home before Gabe did and I cleaned myself up. My face was stained with dust and tears and my eyes are red. I put makeup on after washing my face in an attempt to cover up the evidence of my visit but when Gabe walks through the door, my efforts are useless. He drops everything and pulls me into his arms where I cry again.

"You can keep beating yourself up about it, there was nothing that you could have done…" He comforts me.

I nod, "I know, but I just miss them so much…"

"It'll take time," He runs his hand over my hair.

xxxxxxx

I decide to tell Gabe of my idea. I take him out to the back porch after dinner. We sit down on a swing and look up at the stars for a moment, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

He looks at me, "Okay?"

"I've been thinking over the past few weeks, I have a lot of time to do that while cleaning-"

"And?" He smirks, nervously.

"And I've been thinking about doing medicine runs for people," I say quickly.

He just stares at me for a moment, "Seriously?"

I nod.

"Why would you want to do that?!"

"To help people, can you imagine if I had someone to do it for me?"

"Then I wouldn't have met you," He says.

I laugh to try and lighten the atmosphere, "I plan on taking a few classes in fighting and training with weapons, of course."

He thinks for a moment.

He thinks for a long moment.

"It would help a lot of people…" I add.

He nods, "I understand, I just can't believe how selfless you are, even still."

I shrug.

"Okay, well this is my stipulation, if you do this, I do this," He says with a little regret in his voice, "I don't want you to do this, but if this is what you want to do then… I shouldn't stop you."

I smile, "Thank you, but I can't let you go."

"Then I can't let you go," He says.

I know we could both argue about it all night, "Okay, how about we rock paper scissor it?"

He grins and holds out his fist.

"If you win you can come, if I win I go alone," I restate the terms.

"I got it," He rolls his eyes.

"Rock, paper, scissors shoot!" I stop at scissors.

He stops at rock, "I guess we are now partners," He grins.


	14. Chapter 14: No Pain, No Gain

Chapter 14: No Pain, No Gain

The first few months of training was more pain that it was anything else. Of course, I had to run two miles every day to get into shape. Gabe didn't need it, but he would run with me anyways. We started kick boxing classes and even took adult karate class. We had to look for a while to find someone who would teach us how to handle our swords and daggers. I have a few scars to remind me of how precise I have to be. We got a membership at a gun range. I assume we will be using guns the most, so it was a good investment.

"Are you ready for training?" Gabe asks.

I smirk and nod. I feel I have gotten pretty good at my technique, Gabe even got me a crotch rocket to add, after I fought with him to get rid of the car he had gotten me, there was no way I was accepting both, "I think I am."

After we got what we could out of kick boxing, karate, and self-defense classes, Gabe hired a fighter and tonight is the first night for training with him, "I think it'll be fun," Gabe grins.

We throw our bags into the Hummer and jump in, "I don't doubt it," I chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"Why is that?" He gets in the drivers seat.

I shrug, "I hate feeling so sore I can't move the next day."

Gabe laughs, "It's usually the next day that you begin to feel sore."

I roll my eyes, "You know what I mean!"

"How was school?" He finally asks.

Again, I shrug, "It was school," I mumble.

"You sound so excited about it," He keeps looking over at me.

I fake a smile, "It's going well, it's just easy right now is all."

He chuckles, "You drop out of school and get your GED and college still isn't challenging for you?"

I shake my head.

"Have you figured out what you're going to do yet?" He asks.

"I'm still not sure," I say.

He looks over at me with a grin, "I'm sure you'd be great at anything."

Gabe and I still haven't established anything about our relationship; I think we do much better that way. We are too comfortable with each other to ruin it with a status. But, maybe it wouldn't be ruined? Maybe it would actually make it stronger? Open more doors for us? I shake my head of these thoughts. His brothers still joke about when Gabe had lied about being my fiancée to stay with me in the hospital and I won't lie, it still makes me blush.

We pull into a driveway leading to a small gym. The windows are dimly lit and you can barely see in through the windows. A black new ford sits in the parking lot. Gabe pulls close to the entrance and parks. He glances at me with a smirk and jumps out. I get out after him, grabbing my bag from the back seat. We walk into the small gym, looking around at medals and trophies that decorate the wall and shelves. The room is empty, only music can be heard playing from the speakers mounted on the walls. As I walk around through the room, a large man comes from a door.

"Gabe, you finally made it!" He opens his arms and pulls Gabe into a brotherly hug.

Gabe laughs and pats him on the arm after he lets go, "Nice to see you too, Brutis. This is Remy," Gabe introduces me and I quickly turn.

A bald man stands with his hands firmly on his hips, reminding me of Captain Morgan. I chuckle, "Nice to meet you, Brutis."

"Nice to meet you, Remy!" She holds out his hand for me to shake.

I take it.

"I don't see a ring on her finger yet, Gabe," He says before turning to a closet and opening it.

Gabe gives me a surprised look, "Wh-at?"

Brutis laughs, "I'm just messing with you."

I know my face got red and it was obvious that it made me blush, "I'm just a roommate, it's nothing like that."

"Really?" Brutis asks, genuinely surprised, "Could have fooled me."

"How?" I laugh, "We don't even come off as a couple?" I say unsure.

Brutis raises on eye brow at me, "You think so?"

"How could we?" I ask.

Gabe awkwardly clears his throat, "So what are we working on first?"

Brutis pulls out a punching bag, "The basics, I want to see what you guys can do first before we begin any real training."

"Take it easy, we have only been training a few months now," I joke.

He shrugs, "I'm not measuring, just seeing where we need to start."

Brutis had a good point, so that's what our first night was, the basics and what we were able to do. Of course, I could see on his face the surprise he had when it was my turn to show him "what I could do", but he never admitted it. I took my training very seriously with the other classes, I had to. In order for me to do this, I have to be dedicated.

"I can see why Gabe keeps you around," Brutis jokes.

Gabe laughs, "That's not the only reason."

I breathe hard, "I'm here you know?"

We leave shortly after. It is late going back and I fall asleep against the door. Gabe lightly nudges me when we get to the house and I stumble through the door. John and Ian sit at the kitchen table and peer over at us when we come into the kitchen.

"Long night?" Ian teases.

Gabe snickers, "Like most."

I plop down into a chair and take an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table, "I'd like to see you guys do it."

Gabe sits down next to me, "I would like to see that too!"

"Why did you get a sudden interest for this stuff anyways?" John asks.

Gabe and I glance at each other and we both shrug.

"Just thought it would be fun," I say with apple in my mouth.

Gabe nods, "And it is fun."


End file.
